


The Ambassador

by AndromedaCrewe367



Category: Batman - All Media Types, Percy Jackson and the Olympians & Related Fandoms - All Media Types, The Heroes of Olympus - Rick Riordan
Genre: Crossover, Dimension Jump, Dimnesional Jump
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2021-02-13
Updated: 2021-03-07
Packaged: 2021-03-14 11:00:39
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 7
Words: 10,240
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/29417541
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/AndromedaCrewe367/pseuds/AndromedaCrewe367
Summary: Nico. He's tired. Exhausted from all the fighting and rejection, he leaves. Now he's wandering the streets of New York, energy spent from fighting hellhounds. Being physically and emotionally depleted, he finds refuge in a hotel. However, when waking, he's not exactly where he should be.These people, the ones wearing costumes, must be trying to fool him because they say he's not in New York. But instead he's... What was it again? What's that place called? Oh, right. He's in Gotham. One of the most dangerous places to be in the world.He's not supposed to be there, he's breaking the most ancient laws. So what happens now? Not even Nico knows. Although, over time, he's come to realize that either someone wants him out of the way, or they want him to make new allies for the threat that's coming.
Comments: 7
Kudos: 36





	1. It's Over

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This story can also be found on wattpad. It has the same title and my username, AndromedaCrewe, is also the same. Anyways, I hope everyone enjoys this crossover as much as I havce enjoyed writing it.

It happened again. After the Giant War ended, the seven were recognized for their acts of bravery and achievements. However, no one noticed the one holding them all together.

It took all of his will power to keep him from lashing out. At first, it didn't bother him, but as time went by he not only realized it made him angry, he was jealous of all the attention the seven demigods received. He didn't want the gifts or the glory, he just wanted to be accepted, to be truly apart of a family. He couldn't even remember what it felt like to be in one, not after his sister died.

After each battle went by and after they won each war, it grew painstakingly clear who they all loved and wanted, and he wasn't even close to being one of them. All of it just made him so angry that he wanted to lash out at everyone, but he didn't. Instead, he locked away his frustration, knowing why he would never be awarded, let alone recognized, for his accomplishments. Awarding a child of Hades was like giving a murderer a get out of jail free card for not killing all of his hostages. In fact, he was a murderer. He ghosted Bryce Lawrence then let Octavian die in a fiery explosion. Only three people witnessed those deaths separately and was surprised when they didn't have him executed for such crimes against his people. But he also understood why they didn't, maybe they were scared of him, or maybe they probably thought he had no choice, when in fact he did. He just chose the easy way, not the right way.

It gave him nightmares as well, everything that he did and didn't do. He saw flashes of Bryce's ghost along with hearing the shrilly scream of Octavian, then smelling the air of Tartarus. All of it gave him chills that he couldn't prevent. He was lucky to even be getting as much sleep as he did. Heck, he was lucky enough to even get out of Tartarus sane, and then to survive his death trance, losing seven days of his life. He got lucky through all of it, and enough so that his friends decided to save him.

He was tired of it all. Surviving day by day and not being able to live his life freely. He knew the cost of being a demigod, and he was willing to pay for it with his life. It was in the last few moments of the Giant war, seeing his two best friends nearly fall to their death, and being captured by giants, did he realize that he didn't do it because he didn't want to lose the very thing that he lived for, in fact, he lost that years ago. Instead, he did it so that everyone else did have something to live for.

All of his thoughts came to a halt when he heard a growl behind him. Hellhounds.

Twisting his ring, his Stygian Iron sword grew as Nico crouched into a fighting stance. There were five, a pack. One charged and Nico quickly sliced through the first one. The next wasn't as easy as it was patient, unlike the first one. The others ran around him, trying to claw and bite at him. He was surrounded.

He stabbed another at his right that tried to take a nasty bite out of him. The one on his left took that chance to try to rip him to shreds with its claws. Fortunately, he was fast enough to duck under it and stab it, making it turn to dust with a howl.

The other three backed up a bit, "Stay back!" Nico yelled, waving his sword in a wide arc, horizontally. 

After a minute of just glaring at each other, a hellhound was brave enough to leap at him, unfortunately Nico was not expecting it so he went crashing to the ground, the hellhound putting nearly all of its weight on his rib cage. He then did a movement to stab the hellhound in the stomach, disintegrating it. The last two were easy as Nico just sliced a hound's head off and stab the last one in the eye.

He's exhausted, and wandering around in New York City at night wasn't good either. Crooks and the homeless were almost in every alley, which made it difficult for Nico to find a place to rest. After the rushed shadow jump from Camp Half-Blood he had accidentally ended up in an alley, in a dumpster. So now, he was smelly and tired. Plus, fighting five hellhounds at once wasn't easy. Nico was actually lucky that he lasted as long as he did outside of camp borders.

Now, it was time to find an actual place to stay temporarily. Just living in one spot was like building a neon sign saying, "Hey look at me, vulnerable and lone demigod ready to be eaten for supper!" So yeah, staying in one place was not an option. Well, not an option he would like to pick anyways. His next best option was to either find a spot in an alley, where someone wouldn't bother him (which would probably be next to impossible), or he could find an empty roof. Not something too high up though, staying on Zeus's good side was pretty much his top priority, other than pleasing his father of course.

Nico sighed in frustration and kicked a small rock just as he was about to pass an abandoned building. Approaching said building, all the doors and windows were boarded up. He went toward the back of it to find a possible entrance that wasn't blocked. Fortunately, the fates must have been giving him a small break because he found a small hole over by some trash cans. Nico slipped through carefully and found that he ended up in the kitchen.

Nico got up, dusted off his clothes, and started to wander the mysterious building that he came across. It was dark, that much he could tell at the moment, however he didn't sense any ghosts, lares, or poltergeists within the hotel so that was a good sign. He really didn't want to deal with any rogue ghosts at the moment.

As soon as he found the cleanest room he could find he shook out the pillow and blanket (because of dust and he isn't about to lay down in a mysterious bed with a blanket that hasn't been washed in who knows how long), then crashed onto the bed.

As soon as his head hit the pillow, he fell asleep, praying to the gods and fates that his dreams wouldn't be ridden with nightmares.


	2. The Bridge

Nico woke with a start. Cold sweat made his hair stick to his forehead as he tried to wipe off dried tear stains on his cheeks. He guessed he wasn't that lucky after all. Nightmares were, he guessed what you would call a nightmare. After awhile you would just start to question when they would end, not why you had them and what was it about. In fact, he could remember every single detail in his dream. The white streak of hair the young man had, along with the bluish green eyes that seemed to have looked death in the eye.

It was a bit disturbing to him. To see that a mortal had looked death in the eye and to still be alive, and the aura that radiated off of him was dangerous, deadly even, but it somehow brought comfort to Nico. It was strange. Then after that, he saw someone that seemed to be equally as built, however, this time he had on some weird costume with a red helmet that covered his entire face and head. This man, the one in the red helmet, was shooting at people. At the very moment Nico didn't know if they were innocent or not, he was just trying not to get shot at as he was looking down the barrel of the gun.

None of it made sense, but at the same time it did. It was all so strange and weird, and he's seen a lot of weird things. Maybe he was going to see them, or meet them. Maybe they were enemies and they were a new type of monster. He couldn't figure it out, maybe after getting some breakfast would help. Well, if there was maybe a 24 hour diner open, considering it was nearly five in the morning.

Considering how late, well early, it was, the busy streets of New York didn't seem to let up. Maybe less people who didn't look like they wanted to murder you. Wait, what? Since when did New York City have most people look like they want to murder you. There were even more homeless than normal, and as he walked on the cracked sidewalk he also noticed more children that looked to be homeless as well. Which was odd. The more he walked down the wary street, things started to look more dangerous and dark. Which was saying something considering he was practically a dark creature himself.

His thoughts came to a halt when he nearly passed a McDonald's, and it was still open. Nico smiled a bit as he entered the fast food restaurant. He went up to the counter to order a happy meal and coffee. As he left the place his luck just had to run out.

He was cornered, but not by a monster. It was a mugger with a knife at his throat, looking for money. Unfortunately for him Nico doesn't have much, it was like he was a broke college kid failing at life and about to be kicked out of said college. Well, that was what Percy looked like as far as he could tell.

He knew he can take down the mortal, but he didn't get the chance to. Instead, someone in a red helmet rescued him. The same person from his dream.

"You ok, Kid?" He asked, which sounded genuine. That's what really caught him off guard. Not the mugger or the strange way he appeared out of nowhere, but that fact that he sounded concerned for his well being.

"Hey, you got a name, Kid?" That's when Nico snapped out of his trance.

"Yes, I do, and it isn't kid," Nico glared, slightly annoyed at his so called "savior".

"Then what are you doing out here all alone? Don't you know it's dangerous at this time in Gotham." Red said. What? He didn't know his name so this was the next best thing.

"Gotham? Are you being serious? If this is some prank I think you should try picking on someone else because right now I'm not in the mood to deal with any of you mortals," With that said, he tried to leave the ally with what he had left of his happy meal and coffee.

"Wait, hold on a moment," Red said as he reached for Nico's arm, pulling him back in the ally.

"What do you mean by prank? You do know where you are, right?"

"Yes, We're in New York City. Now, will you just leave me alone now? I didn't do anything wrong - What are you doing! Let go of me!"

"Come with me. That way I'm able to take you somewhere safe," Red then put his finger on his left ear," Hey, I think we got another one, bringing him to the cave now."

"Wait! You can't do this! This is called kidnapping!"

And with that, Nico was taken by none other than Red Hood. Who knows what can happen now. Let's just hope the gods have nothing to do with this, but with Nico's luck, that's probably what happens.

The next thing Nico knew, he was brought to a cave with a large waterfall inside, knowing that the amount of pressure it was showing, it could kill any innocent demigod that just happened to be kidnapped.


	3. Here We Go

"Hey! Where are we? Where are you taking me?" Nico struggled, hitting Red's back.

"Quiet down kid, I'm not going to hurt you," Red sighed.

Red walked closer to the waterfall, that's when Nico started to struggle more. Then, something happened, as if Poseidon was taking mercy on the poor demigod. Right down the middle, the water started to part, but the pressure that the water exuded didn't stop, which made Nico more nervous.

The next thing Nico saw was a large room with a giant computer and several other odd costumed people. What was happening to him? First he leaves camp because everyone treats him like a freak, next he gets chased by hell hounds then nearly gets robbed, and now he has been kidnapped and taken to some secret, evil lair. Probably going to be either killed or tortured, with his luck it would be both. Now, you're probably wondering why he didn't try to shadow travel? He did. Multiple times, however, every time he tried to, not only did he get dizzy he nearly passed out from exhaustion. The only thing he could think of that could stop him from shadow travelling is the gods, and he really hoped it was because of some curse and not them. He's been a pawn too many times and he was starting to get tired of doing their dirty work.

"He said the same thing like Rochelle? About being from New York?" A guy, in a red and black costume with an x and a bird symbol on it, had said.

"Yep, except this one has a mouth on him," Red said as he put Nico down on a chair.

This time, he got to see his full surroundings. The room was well lit, even though it seemed to have this sort of darkness looming over them. It looked to be some sort of interrogation room, except it wasn't much of a room. All there was in the room were the two guys he saw and the chair Nico was sitting in. In fact, Nico was kind of nervous. To be around something that he had no clue about, he couldn't even identify a single thing that passed him, other than the fact that he was in some sort of underground cave with a giant waterfall. But what made him more nervous was the fact that he couldn't even tell how far underground he was, or if there was any dead nearby. His powers were malfunctioning and he couldn't figure out why. Just thinking about it made his head hurt.

"Well kid, can you tell us your name and how you got here?" Bird asked. What, it's not like he can just ask for their names, pretty sure that's why they wear masks, well, a cowl and a helmet in their cases.

"Nico. Nico Di Angelo. And I'm pretty sure you know how I got here, your friend over there kidnapped me." Nico was pretty sure they weren't monsters since they asked for his name, well they could always be putting up an act for all he knows.

"Di Angelo, so I'm guessing you're Italian?" Nico rolled his eyes. "What were you doing out this early? It's dangerous, especially in crime alley."

Nico was confused, which wasn't really new for him. Crime Alley? Last time Nico checked New York didn't have a crime alley for that matter. Well, things do change quickly, he had first hand experience from the Lotus Hotel and Casino. The place gave him chills. So he shouldn't really be all that surprised that there are costumed weirdos running around at night.

"I can take care of myself. Now, if you don't mind, can I please go?"

"Wait, hold on just a moment. Do you know who we are?" Red spoke up.

"My kidnappers?" Nico was confused, was he supposed to know them?

"My name's Red Hood, and this is Replacement-" He was interrupted by Bird.

"That's not my name Hood and you know it. My name's Red Robin, not Replacement," Red Robin glared at "Red Hood".

The names were weird, I mean, who in their right mind would name their child Red Robin and Red Hood. No one. The only other option would be that those aren't their actual names.

"Then what am I doing here, and who are all of you? It's not like I did anything wrong."

"Well, no. You're here because you and Rochelle just appeared here out of nowhere, believing to be at a place called New York City," Red Robin said.

"Well, if me and, Ro- something, aren't in New York then where are we?" Nico asked as the two costumed strangers guided him toward another room, this one a lot more spacious and dark.

"First of all, my name is Rochelle, but I prefer Elle. And according to them, we're in Gotham City," A girl, about Nico's age, spoke up.

She reminded him a bit of Piper. It wasn't her looks but it was her eyes. It wasn't that fact that it changed color, it was the fire that was inside them. The only other thing she was similar to piper was her tan skin. Everything else about her screamed peace. He knew it was a bit confusing, but that's what his gut told him, and he always followed his gut.

"And you are?" She raised her eyebrow.

"Nico. Nico Di Angelo."

"Well Nico Di Angelo. You have any idea how we got here?"

"No. I don't, unfortunately," He said, not able to take his eyes off of her.

Another figure entered the room, this one was dressed as a bat. "You both are from another dimension. Someone, or something, brought you both here. However, the both of you are from different dimensions. Rochelle, being from a world where we are comic books, and you are from a dimension where we don't exist as heroes."

"What? Heroes? Comic Books? I don't even know what you're talking about or even getting at. I was just walking back to the hotel when someone decided to mug me, then one of your, whoever they are to you, decided to kidnap me. I didn't do anything wrong, why can't you people just leave me alone?"

He was exhausted. Tired of being dragged into battles and wars that he didn't want to fight. However, this time, it looked to be bigger than the gods themselves. The gods had rules and ancient laws about not crossing universes, let alone dimensions. He was thoroughly confused as to why someone would bring him here because then he would be breaking an ancient law, and the punishment is worse than death, maybe worse than breaking an oath on the River Styx. Well, not really, but as you can tell the punishment is pretty horrible and gruesome.

"We didn't kidnap you. Instead, we saved you. I received Intel from an anonymous source that someone was going to take an ally. We couldn't risk anything, so when we showed up to the location, you were there. About to be mugged. A day before we found you, we received a different message on where to find Rochelle. This is not a coincidence," Elle glared at the Bat for saying her full name.

"So what you're saying is that someone purposefully transported me and her, to this dimension? Who would want to do that, and why?" 

"We don't know why yet. That's what we're trying to figure out. And the only way to do that is that you and Rochelle need to tell us everything."

"Everything?" Elle sounded nervous, I mean, what could some mortal be hiding?

"Yes, everything that you remember. Any enemies, friends, and anything to do with something that would seem unnatural, including magic."

Wonderful. Just wonderful. Now Nico had to open up about his past to a bunch of random strangers, not to mention he probably had to list off any enemies that he had, that would be powerful enough to do this to him. And considering how many monsters, gods, and demigods hated him, the list would be pretty long.

He's been in captivity before. So this should not be as difficult, considering he can actually breathe in the room he's being held in. It looked to be similar to an interrogation room that you would see on T.V. So you could probably guess that the chair was uncomfortable.

The questions were basic, but at some point turned out to be very personal. Ever since the Giant War, Nico has tried being more open about his feelings and his thoughts. But it proved to be difficult with everyone continuously turning their back on him. So he decided to keep his mouth shut. He conditioned himself to withhold information, secrets that he knew to keep to himself, and learned to keep his emotions in check. Even when he felt his throat become sore when he never said a word, or even when his eyes became bloodshot. Besides, it's not like anyone cared in the first place.

"So you're telling me that there is a camp, full of kids with mental disabilities, who have run away and live there? And it's all because there are people that hate kids with those disabilities and want to kill them?" Red Hood seemed skeptical.

"Yes..? I mean, sure you have your typical bullies and then there are your nerds-" BANG!

"Look, kid, quit trying to play us. Just tell us who you really are so we can get through this mess a whole lot easier. Besides, from the sound of it you seem to have a lot more enemies than me, which is saying something," Red Hood stood up.

"It's not like I lied. I do have enemies, but none that will want to bring me here," Nico said.

"Alright, Di Angelo, if you're not going to tell us about where you came from maybe you can tell us what you are," Nico's eyes widened.

How'd they figure out he wasn't fully mortal? That should be impossible considering he didn't use his powers, no slang was used that was typical in the demigod world, and he never even mentioned the pantheons.

"Want to explain to us why you only have half of your DNA? How the only strand that shows up is from your mom? Are you a clone? Were you a test tube baby? Were you experimented on? How about side effects? Do you have powers because of it?" Each question resulted in another sweat drop.

Of course, he forgot about the gods not having DNA. Well that's just great. Fantastic even. He couldn't get a break could he? Guess he had to come clean, there was no way he could get out of this now, but that doesn't mean he couldn't bend a few truths.

"Alright, I'll explain everything," But my sister, they don't need to know that. 

Nico then looked up to see their reactions, and it wasn't at all what he expected. 

Nico expected them to at least have more questions or to be surprised. Hades, even a small part of him wanted them to laugh at him and call him a liar. But no, all Red Hood and Red Robin did was look at each other. Then came another question.

"Who brought you here? And what being kind of god on your planet has the ability to transport others through dimensions?" Red Robin asked.

"I... I don't know. There are ancient laws that say we can't cross into different universes, let alone dimensions. The punishment of that happening is worse than death. All I know is that whoever pulled this off, they're not of my world, and if they were, then I pray that the fates know what they're doing."

"Alright, kid. Now all we need you to do is tell us who your enemies are, the ones that could have the potential to cross dimensions. Even if you think they didn't do it, we still need you to write down their name, even if a friend of yours was just pulling a prank," Red Robin pulled out a paper and pen.

Nico then proceeded to write down all of his enemies that he knew would screw him over. It wasn't hard, but keeping track of everyone proved to be a little difficult, considering just the smallest encounters can enrage a god/titan enough to do something like this. 

The list was definitely long. He even included names of his friends that would do this as a practical joke. Which he wouldn't think would happen, and even though some demigods may act stupid they aren't dense enough to break an ancient law.

"You sure this is all of them?" The Bat asked.

"Yeah, I even included people that would do this as a practical joke."

"Alfred will be here in a moment to show you your room for the time being," He turned back around to his giant computer, typing away.

Well that was rude, he can't just decide that he was staying in the cave or not. In fact, he could leave right now, but that wouldn't be that good of an idea, considering how easy it was for Red Hood to just take out that mugger and then kidnap him. And he assumed that the rest of the clan could fight, if not better. So that wasn't an option, besides it couldn't hurt to scope out the place.

He was led to an elevator by an old man, who he assumed was Alfred. Fidgeting with his skull ring, the ride was silent and awkward. As the tin box came to a stop, the doors opened to reveal a beautiful room. The walls were tall and filled with paintings of people. What struck odd to him was that there was a grandfather clock in place of the elevator doors.

"Right this way Master Di Angelo," Alfred said.

"Uh, just call me Nico," The dead called him master, which made him uncomfortable at times, he didn't want to hear it from a mortal.


	4. Down The Hall

This place was huge. For mortal standards, the guy that owned the place must have been some sort of millionaire. He was led up a flight of stairs and would go down different winding hallways that reminded him of a kinder labyrinth. 

After a few minutes of awkward silence, Alfred opened a door that led to a giant room. He was told that he would be given time to settle in and get comfortable, he would also be brought down for lunch in an hour. One hour. That should be enough time to finally figure out which dimension he's in, if that's possible, but now, all he could do was IM his father.

Well that was a plan and a half. His message didn't even go through, let alone accept the coin he flipped it into. That could only mean that the gods don't exist here. Which is a huge problem because he didn't have any allies or friends here. He had no way of getting out of here. Unless somehow the mortals are able to build some sort of machine to put him back where he belongs. Which, he highly doubt would happen, seeing how he told them just about everything about him. Well not everything, he wanted to keep his sister a secret. For the time being at least. Besides, it wasn't any of their business, and she has nothing to do with this.

Nico sighed as he sat on the toilet, within the attached bathroom to his new room. Running his fingers through his hair, he picked up the hand towel and started to wipe down the water mess he made. He was exhausted. That jump, through dimensions, took more out of him than he thought. It was a wonder that he was still alive and breathing. Nico took the now sopping towel and wrung it in the sink, then threw it in the hamper. He ran his fingers through his hair again, thinking.

He looked to his right, looking at the shower. Maybe he could take a minute and wash up. He couldn't remember the last time he was able to take a nice, hot shower. Looking in a cupboard he found some fluffy towels. Begrudgingly, Nico took off his clothes as the water started to show steam.

He felt refreshed, awake. He stepped out of the bathroom with a towel wrapped around his waist. Walking toward the bed he noticed new clothes. They were all black and were about his size as well. Which was a bit creepy. However, as soon as he picked up the shirt, he felt the warmth coming from it. Meaning it had just been in the dryer.

Nico changed into the new clothes and proceeded to dry his hair with the towel. He stopped when he heard a knock at the door.

"Lunch time, kid!" It was Red Hood.

Nico threw the towel in the hamper near his dresser, then proceeded to open the door.

"It's not kid. It's Nico," He glared.

"Whatever, lets go. Alfred made tomato soup," Red Hood walked away.

It was weird, he still wore that strange costume. It seemed out of place, yet he was comfortable wearing it too, even in the light. Meaning he didn't mind being in the spotlight, he must have enjoyed it.

His thoughts stopped as he stood in the doorway of what seems to be the dining room. The smell of freshly cooked food put a warm feeling in his stomach. Something that he hadn't experienced in a long while. Too long in fact.

However, it was just him. No one else was there, except for the butler that kept bringing in food. Nico walked in and sat down, only on Alfred's request of course. He had forgotten how much he loved tomato soup. The red liquid warmed his tongue as he ate a little, testing if it'd kill him. It didn't, and it was wonderful.

Nico dropped his spoon into the soup, startled, which resulted in the soup getting all over him. It was the girl, Elle. She seemed strange, and seemed to be holding something back from everyone.

"Sorry to interrupt. Didn't mean to startle you. How does it taste? Poisoned?"

"No, not likely. If anything they would have killed us already"

"Us?"

"Well, you are from another dimension, aren't you?"

"Well, yea-,"

"Then you're in the same boat as I am, but I guess we were picked up at different stops."

"Huh, I guess you're right. Even just being here for a day, I was getting kinda lonely. They're so secretive and won't let me go outside for 'protection'. In reality I call bullshit, I think they don't want us to find out their identities. But since I was in a world where they were comic book characters, I pretty much know who everyone is."

"So who are they?" It would be kind of nice to know who he was dealing with.

"Sorry but I can't really tell you that, pretty sure they have me bugged or something and keeping a really close eye on me because I know their names. They're afraid that I'll reveal it to the public."

"Ok then."

They both sat there in an awkward silence, which felt like hours. He really hated socializing, and wasn't very good at it. Nico stirred his soup nervously. Elle then stood up and left, and he couldn't blame her. Besides, he wasn't here to make friends. He needed to find a way to get back to his own world.

He sighed as he tried to remember the last thing he said to Hazel, only to find guilt weighing on his chest. He couldn't believe he did that to her. Just left her like that, and claimed that she never cared about him. He made her cry, the last thing that he ever did, the last time he spoke to her. He felt like the worst person in the world. Hazel was the only person that truly cared about him, that loved him, and made him feel he was actually a part of the family. He wasn't all that surprised when a teardrop fell in the, now cold, soup. He wiped his cheek with his sleeve, erasing any trace of it being there.

Next thing he knew he was pushing the soup away and walking out of the dining area. Walking down the many hallways mindlessly. He wanted to be anywhere but there, the lighted area and large open space made him uncomfortable. He wanted to be somewhere darker, more private. However he had no idea where he was going. This place was huge.


	5. What's This Lock?

He ended up back in his room. Looking around, he decided to sit at the desk, trying to find something that would distract him from thinking about Hazel. Curious as to what was inside the drawers, he opened all of them. All that was in them was in them was pens and pencils, a few empty notepads, and a few different colored highlighters. He had an idea, something that he doesn't remember doing, but wished he knew how to do. Write.

At first he tried writing in english, as you can tell, he gave up. Crinkling the paper he threw it in the trash, next he thought of writing in greek or in latin, but he didn't really want to be reminded of his godly side, at least not right now. His next option was italian, but all he thought of was speaking italian with his sister when he was in Westover Hall. Nico sighed, then it seemed like a light bulb appeared above his head. Spanish. Leo had taught him how to speak and write it during their free time after and during the war, when they did have time on the Argo II. He was excited to learn a new language, it was almost like it came natural to him. Even though his handwriting was a bit sloppy he still wrote for what felt like hours. He wrote about his feelings, he wrote about his journeys, he even wrote about his best memories, and how he wished he could remember how he grew up in Italy. This felt almost easy to him, it was therapeutic too. It felt like something was missing, like he should have been doing something. He finally found what he should have been doing. He guessed that he might have kept journals before he was dumped in the river lethe, but he would never be able to know. He sighed again, feeling a bit more relaxed, but drained more than ever. He put the written papers below the blank ones in the drawer that he found. 

Nico stood up and looked around. He was curious as to what kind of people he was dealing with. So he decided to snoop a bit, to see if there was anything in there that would help him in any way. Nothing, it was all a dead end. Just a variety of books that couldn't tell him what kind of people he was dealing with, not that he could read the titles anyway. Everything was plain, the closet was empty with bare hangers all on one side, the dressers had nothing in them, and so did the nightstand. All it had was another lamp atop of it along with an alarm clock. He even dug through the bathroom. It was filled with basic first aid and medicines. Nothing had labels that could tell him where it all came from. This was getting increasingly frustrating. He sat at the desk again, this time spinning in the chair. He couldn't think of anything that would get him into this much trouble. He paused his thinking for a moment, now scared of what this might lead to. Another war. He was in another world, just him, and if there was someone missing from this one, then that would mean that they were in his world. But that doesn't make sense, why bring Elle to this one? Are there supposed to be three allies against the threat that's in this world, his, and Elle's? But that would be major. What threat is big enough to make someone break an ancient law. Several times the very the least. At the same time it didn't make sense, the gods didn't care about what happened to other pantheons, let alone other worlds. So why would this be important? Why this world? Why him?

He wished he could talk to Annabeth. She would know what to do. Hell, even Percy would know what to do, even with his oblivious nature he would be able to figure out a way to contact someone from their world. 

Wait, oblivious. These people quote on quote rescued him. He also didn't tell them about his powers or the very details of his world. He knew if even one person was worried about his absence, everyone would be on the lookout. Especially, how powerful of a demigod he is, the gods would be worried about who would take him. He was powerful and careful, he knew if he wasn't able to handle the battle alone, he wouldn't. He wasn't cocky. He also wasn't reckless and not afraid to call for help. If the gods weren't worried, then his father would be. His father would be the one to demand any army and any resources he could find to help find him. He bet the fates that his father would even go to other pantheons to find him, and to also see if he died and went to the wrong underworld. Which is not likely to happen. He was also supposed to help Thanatos look for lost souls, and since there were a lot that escaped, he was in charge of helping where he could. And since he was supposed to keep helping, and now he wasn't able to because of the unexpected world hop, Thanatos would contact his father about him missing.

That could be his way out. His father! Nico stood up, unable to sit down any longer. Pacing the room, his mind racing. He couldn't believe he didn't think of that earlier. He laughed slightly, a little relieved that at least one person might be on the search for him. He sat at the edge of the bed, panting a bit from the pacing and from spinning in the chair. He looked over, and saw two large, glass doors covered in curtains. He walked up and tried opening them, only to find it locked. He sighed as he walked back to his old laundry, trying to find his lock pick kit. Ha, I'd like to see you try to say that five times fast. As soon as he found it, he went to work right away, remembering his teachings of the Stoll brothers. In a matter of seconds, the lock clicked and the door handle turned smoothly. Opening it, he was met with a balcony.

It wasn't overly huge or small, it was big enough to hold three people comfortably. It also had a hammock off to one side and two chairs on the other. He decided to lay on the hammock, enjoying the nightly breeze he felt from the open night. Next thing he knew, he was falling asleep, the slight swing of the hammock and the stars above him, giving him a familiar comfort.

He was hoping that he wouldn't get any more dreams or nightmares, considering his powers were malfunctioning, and that the gods didn't exist here. Of course, this was the one thing that he could never escape.

His dream consisted of rubble, ruins of broken statues, and buildings toppling over. He couldn't find the source of who was attacking, let alone where he was. This place was familiar. It felt like a gap in his memory was being filled. He heard children screaming and crying, calling out for their mothers and fathers. He ran to help them, as many as he could. Every time he was too late. He couldn't save any of them. Wandering, his mind now clouded, and stumbling through the disaster. Through his blurry vision, all he could see were the burnt socks that were just too small, ashes of images that were of families, and dirty stuffed animals. He fell as he picked up one in particular. It was a pirate. The building he fell in front of was destroyed, the blast that was held here seemed big enough to not allow any survivors. He then heard a woman, calling for help under all the rubble. He ran as fast as he could, trying to find her and help her. He lifted the pieces as fast and as carefully as he could. Eventually, he saw her, the face that had haunted him since he made the IM to his past. It was his mother, breathing her final breaths as she looked him in the eyes. He couldn't move, all he could do was hold her and cry. Each tear that appeared fell from his cheeks to hers, as if he was crying for her. The place around him slowly fell, Maria being the last thing to fall into the dark abyss.

He couldn't move, he only stared out into the darkness that surrounded him. Then things started to build back up, this time differently. The place was filled with magnificent, modern buildings that seemed to be so tall, that it could touch the sky. People with happy faces walked the busy streets, not seeming to notice Nico. He couldn't understand how they could be so happy when he had just watched someone, so important to him, die in his arms. Now, all he could do was sit in the middle of the road. Rain, it fell from the sky hard and fast. Large drops pelted his back, not bothered from the intensity it brought. Everyone ignored him, and he was alone again. He lay back on the ground, looking at the sky. Moments passed as he felt everything, yet nothing at all. He couldn't breathe, Nico closed his eyes to help focus on his uneven breaths. Light then shined on him, it was warm and he felt the rays of the light dancing upon his pale skin.

"Are you all right?" That voice, it was as if he knew who it was.

He was surprised, to say the least, that someone went up to him. He tried opening his eyes, only to be left squinting from light being shown in the distance. The man that spoke to him, knelt next to him. His facial features were hard to describe, it seemed to be a blur. The man then stood and held out his hand to Nico.

For some reason Nico felt more at peace in his presence. Nico sat up and looked at his hand, then to his face. Hesitantly, he took it.

He shot up in bed, panting. That dream, it was horrible. It was all too real and too close. It was too close for him. Nico wiped his eyes and face of the tears that had gathered. It was strange, the last thing he remembered, he was on the hammock. But now... He ended up back in his room.


	6. I Can't Believe I Forgot

He looked at the time, 10:48. Judging by the light coming through the curtains, it was a.m. and not pm. He stood and stretched, for the first time in a long time, he didn't have a plan. He knew what it took to defeat Kronos, that's why he brought Percy to the River Styx. He knew what he had to do to find the doors of death, and when he ended up captured he knew he would be rescued. He even traveled the fucking world just to stop another war from breaking out, and he nearly turned into a puddle of shadows because of it. But he knew what had to get done, he had a plan. This time, he was at a loss. Nothing like this has ever happened to anyone in history. He should know, he went through every major history event since the beginning of the mortals and the gods. He went as far back as he could, nothing ever came close to this.

Nico sat at the edge of his bed, rubbing his puffy eyes from crying earlier. He was stuck, stranded on an island.

There was a knock at the door," Master Nico, breakfast is being served if you wish to join."

Join? Maybe it was Elle, or maybe the other cosplayers.

Nico made his way downstairs, and eventually ran into Elle.

"Hey, going down for- you don't look so good. Were you crying?"

"What? No, and yea, Alfred came and got me. After you?" Nico gestured to the stairs, even though there was room for both of them.

"Oh, ok." She stepped down first, Nico falling a step or two behind her.

"So, what do you think Alfred made this time?" That's the last thing he wanted to do, converse with her. But he guessed he needed her trust, and information.

"Not sure, maybe a little bit of everything?" They turned the corner into the dining room and froze, looking at the boy.

"Are you just going to stand there or are you going to sit down?" The boy looked as though he hadn't slept in days.

"Uh, yea." Nico and Elle sat down a seat or two apart, and across from the boy.

"So how are you enjoying your stay?" He didn't even look up from his computer.

"It's been ok- thank you, Alfred- but when do you think you'd be able to send us back to our worlds" Elle asked and Nico's eyes widened.

"From what we can tell, whatever transported you , they used a mixture of magic and technology. It's something we've never seen before. Batman can't figure it out, even with Dr. Fate's help." At that Nico seemed confused. "Oh, right, I forgot you don't know any heroes. Dr. Fate is the lord of order, and a very powerful magician. If him and Batman are lost, then it has to be someone from one of your worlds."

"Definitely not mine, there isn't such a thing as magic on my earth. And if there were I'd know; and the whole world because everyone is nosy." The boy looked at Nico.

"I guess it's someone from mine, which doesn't make sense." Nico stirred his cereal.

"How so?" The boy took a big gulp of coffee.

"The only people I know with that kind of advanced technology are my friends, they're family. They wouldn't do something so dangerous. And the 'magicians' , definitely not stupid enough to do that. They know the risks." The boy raised an eyebrow.

"You sure, there might be a spy that could have slipped under everyone's noses." Nico stopped stirring his cereal.

"Trust me, ever since last time– no one would dare betray the others. It might be one of the gods." He was hesitant, afraid he would be zapped with lightning.

"Do you have any ideas on who?" It was Elle who spoke up this time.

Nico pursed his lips, "That's the thing. The gods in my world, they're pretty– they're a bit difficult to work with, and very unpredictable. My best guess, if this turns out how I think it does, we could be looking at a war. One that could–" Nico shuddered, not wanting to think of the death toll.

"What makes you say that?" It was another boy, one much smaller than the one in front of him.

"I mean, it would make sense," It was eye-bags who spoke up, "But who would we be up against? Would it be from someone from this world, Elle's, or Nico's."

Everyone looked at each other, "I have to go. I need to get this information to, Bats. Nico, if you have any clue on who did this, and why, tell one of us as soon as possible." With that, he closed his laptop and coffee and walked away quickly, careful not to spill anything.

"Is he ok?" Elle asked.

"You never know with him." The smaller boy then picked up a piece of toast and left.

"Well that was weird," Elle said.

"I just can't believe you told two complete strangers that we're from different worlds," As you can tell, Nico wasn't happy.

"What are you talking about? They're the– oh." Elle turned back to her breakfast.

"They're what? And what do you mean by oh?" Nico was now fully turned toward her, a confused look on his face.

Then realization struck, "Wait a second. Those people, the one with the eye-bags and the shorter one, they're part of the cosplayers?" 

"Ok, first off, they're not cosplayers. They're heroes. Second, yes," She seemed a bit offended.

"Well then what are their names? If they don't care about showing their faces to me, why not give me their names?" Nico was getting desperate.

"I'm sorry, it's– I'm not the right person you should be talking to about that. And why didn't you ask them before they left?"

Nico hadn't thought of that. I guess with everything happening, his manners were lacking.

Soon after Elle left with her third helping in her stomach and a belch on her way out. Nico, he couldn't eat a single thing. There was something that he was missing. Something that he should know.

Nico left, his head down and shoulders slumped. He went towards the clock, where it should be led back to the cave of cosplayers. As soon as he reached it, he tried opening it like a normal door, and when that didn't work, he tried pushing it aside.

He spent the next twenty minutes trying to figure this thing out. Slouched on the floor next to the clock, he could barely hold in his patience as he heard the ticking tok. He was annoyed, frustrated, and just all around angry. He was pathetic. He can't figure out how even a stupid clocked worked- that's it!

Nico stood, full of energy, and looked at the minute and hour hand. Something about them. Last time they were at a certain time. 

Nico moved the minute hand, then the hour hand. In his mind, he somehow knew it was meant to be p.m. and not am. He looked at the time, 10:48.

Looking down at the cave, it didn't seem as creepy as it should have. It was dark, sure, but as you descended the light started to shine at the end of the steps. It was a long way down, and he was a bit surprised to hear yelling.

"-crazy to think that this won't happen!" It was eye bags guy. 

"Because that's nearly impossible and you know it!" Nico walked further in, trying to get a better look.

"It's not! With Nico's past and Elle's knowledge, someone is helping us prepare for some kind of battle or invasion!" Nico now has a clear view of the two people yelling. 

"Even if someone is helping us, who would it be?" It was the blue guy, still in costume, and his mask was off.

"I don't know..." Eye-bags looked down in thought.

"Maybe I can shorten the list of people that want to murder me, will that help?" Both were startled and gave each other a look.

"Yea that would, and how did you get down here? You're supposed to stay within the manor." Blue moved closer to him.

"Oh relax, he was going to figure it out sooner or later. It's not like he knows anyone here to out us. Hell, I'm sure he doesn't even know our names." Eyes-bags looked up from the monster-computer.

"He's right. I don't know your names. Or your "hero" names either. And if you don't mind, can I see the list again?" Nico walked over to eye-bags.

"So if you don't know our names or alter egos, what have you been calling us?" Blue was right behind him. 

"Huh? Oh, uh, I've been calling you blue and him eye-bags," Blue laughed while eye-bags just continued typing.

"Ok, I'll tell you our names, that way you don't have to keep calling us that. My name's Dick, this is Tim," 'Dick' smiled at him, a genuine one at that.

"Ok, here you go," 'Tim' had successfully pulled up the list on the computer, but thanks to Nico's dyslexia he had trouble reading the names, so he guessed he'll have to recall them all from memory. There were more than fifty.

"Ok um, cross off stoll brothers, Lou Ellen, Reyna, Leo, Apollo, Poseidon, gorgons, giants, earth giants, Hermes, Hades, Thanatos, Zeus, Artemis, and Mr. D. And I think that's it so far." Nico leaned on his heels as he watched the names disappear.

"What made you want to cross those people off?"

"Because they have no reason to do this. To send me here I mean. Some may hold grudges but they're not that stupid, or smart. If one of these people did send me here, it's either because we need allies or because someone wants me out of the way. And the ones I crossed off aren't smart enough or able to benefit from this," Nico held his breath, praying to any god out there that he was right. 

"Well let us hope that you're right, because if you're not, then we're in some deep shit." Tim turned to give him a look, one that has obviously seen more than their fair share of trauma.

He sighed, "Well, if you want a list of people that would be likely to help us, and who would want me out of the way, I can help divide it."

"Perfect, let's get to work, shall we?" Dick pat his shoulder, either to support him or comfort him, he didn't know or cared. This had to get done, and it has to be correct. If not, then they were all doomed. 

Depressing I know, but if this situation was to be described by any mood, it would be depressing. Like he said before, for the first time in a long time, he didn't have a plan. He only hoped these new people were able to help him fix this problem they had.


	7. That Who I Am

Today was interesting to say the least. Elle had got into a fight with Batman, and let me tell you something. You may have seen Batman get mad in the past, but at the very moment he was angry. It's safe to say that scene had forever been ingrained in Nico's mind and made the top 15 list of scariest things that he's seen.

The "debate" had consisted of Elle arguing that she should be able to go out into Gotham, get some fresh air. Batman had retorted back by saying how the air is fresher inside the manor and cave. To be honest Nico agreed with him, but he can also see how Elle wants to go out. Even Nico was starting to feel a bit cooped up. He was used to wandering the streets and underworld, going wherever he liked whenever he wanted to. Now? Now he can't go anywhere. Sure the manor was huge, but there were so many places he could go.

He spent most of his time in his room. Writing about his day and whether or not he'd be able to go back home. He wrote letters to his friends and family, saying how he was sorry for everything that he'd done in the past and what he didn't do. Writing took some weight off his shoulders, something that he hasn't been able to do since he lost his sister.

And when he was done writing, he would burn them. He didn't trust the others not to go through the room, and he didn't want anyone to find out how he really felt about everything. He was nowhere near ready for that, and he doubts he'll ever tell them. Besides, it's not like he'll be in their world for long. Or at least he hopes.

Nico spent the rest of the night wandering the manor. He didn't want to stay in the cave, he felt too uncomfortable around everyone. Besides, he figured that he should get a good handle of the place he would be staying at for the time being. Just knowing your surroundings can be a huge advantage if he's ever caught between a rock and a hard place.

There seemed to be a hundred rooms, all on varying floors of the manor. With the narrow hallways and the looming paintings, it reminded him of a lighter, smaller underworld palace. He actually kind of missed it. The comfortable darkness that came with the underworld, the chilling wind that would break through his skin like daggers, and the skeletons that would guard each doorway. He never thought he would miss it. The underworld has always been there, never moving and always advancing. It was where Nico could escape to when everyone and everything was getting too much.

He stopped his thoughts and footsteps when he saw light coming from a set of double doors. He hasn't gone into this room yet. There was a sign, looking to be made of gold, on the left. The curly letters made it harder to read, so instead of trying to read it he went straight to the doorknob and opened the doors.

To say he was surprised was an understatement. The ceiling was built high and there are books going from the floor to the ceiling. Towards the center was a set of chairs with a table and next to it was a couch matched with a recliner. This must be a library. The closest he ever spent time in one was the Athena cabin. Sure the Athena cabin had a lot of books, but that doesn't even compare to how many books were in here. He guessed that Annabeth would love it here, but getting a closer look at the spines of the books, he assumed she wouldn't be in here for long because they looked to all be written in English.

He jumps in surprise, his hand darting toward his ring. "Sorry, kid, didn't mean to startle you." He assumed it was Red Hood that made the noise, no one else called him kid except him and Thalia. He doesn't know why but seeing Red Hood wearing regular clothes was off-putting.

"It's fine," Nico turned his head, debating whether or not he should leave.

"What are you doing here? Thought you had dyslexia?" Nico looked up at him, and was a bit surprised to see him holding a book, it must have been what made the noise.

"I do," He didn't feel like making conversation, but if it was pertinent to his survival he guessed he'll have to make himself do it. "I was only trying to familiarize myself with this place."

Red Hood only nodded his head in response. Nico just stood there, not knowing what to say. He never really had to interact with anyone except the seven and a few others. Even then the time speaking to one another was very short.

Thankfully, the pregnant pause was over with Red Hood clearing his throat. "Anyone driving you crazy yet?"

"No, not yet. It's been quite boring actually," Red Hood nods his head again.

"Makes sense. Everyone is trying to solve this puzzle or trying to solve their own."

"And you're not?"

"Not much of a brainiac like the others. At least, not with this type of stuff. I'd just be in the way if I'm down there."

Nico agreed with him. "So I have a question."

"I'll happily answer depending on the question," They both had somehow made their way to the table and chairs.

"It's actually several questions, but they all have to do with everyone. How-? I mean, do you guys really help people? And what's with the weird names and the costumes?"

"We do help people. Some have saved more than others and for reasons that I can't tell you because that's their business and mine. As for the weird names and costumes? Well, we have "code-names" to protect our family. So that the people we fight don't go after our loved ones. As for the costumes. Mine is made with armor and compartments for weapons, mainly to protect me. The others' costumes are made according to their strengths and weaknesses."

"That... makes sense," He didn't know what he was expecting, but the truth wasn't one. He guessed he shouldn't assume.

"So, Di Angelo, I have a question for you," Red Hood gave a sly smile as he leaned back in his chair and put his feet up on the table.

"I'll happily answer depending on the question," Nico smiled as Red Hood rolled his eyes.

"What's it like being a demigod?"

"That's a bit hard to explain and I don't think I am able to share everything," Nico looked away, finding a sudden interest in the flower vase on the table.

"Complicated?" Red Hood leaned back into his chair, folding his hands into his lap.

"You could say that," Nico leaned back in his chair again, rubbing the back of is neck.


End file.
